"I Dream of Jeannie" actress Barbara Eden appeared at Cocoa Beach Half Marathon

Actress returns 50 years after "I Dream of Jeannie" put Cocoa Beach on the map
"I Dream of Jeannie" actress Barbara Eden appeared at Cocoa Beach Half Marathon.

 With a nod and a blink, actress Barbara Eden was crowned the queen of Cocoa Beach on Sunday, most appropriately on I Dream of Jeannie Lane, surrounded by "I Dream of Jeannie" lookalikes.

Mayor Dave Netterstrom presented the 84-year-old actress with a golden key to the city. As Eden clutched it, she addressed the crowd: "I'll be back every year."

The petite blonde, still in fit form 50 years after her show premiered, returned to the Space Coast for a pair of events: the inaugural Ron Jon Cocoa Beach Half Marathon and her "On the Magic Carpet with Barbara Eden" show at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne.

Eden previously visited the Space Coast, with a trip to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum in June 1969 and eventually dedicating I Dream of Jeannie Lane at Lori Wilson Park.

For the half marathon, comprised of 2,700 runners, 170 of those signed up to run while wearing a Jeannie costume, race director Mitch Varnes said. The costumes varied from purple, mint green and white to the traditional pink-and-red crop top and harem pants made famous by Eden.